The Punjab government has decided to recruit more doctors; even the retired ones if the need be, to meet the shortage of staff in medical colleges and hospitals. A meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal approved the proposal to re-employ retired specialist doctors against clinical posts. “The decision was taken to cope up with the situation arising out of an acute shortage of specialist doctors in the Department of Health and Family Welfare,” a government spokesperson said after the meeting.

In a bid to boost the public healthcare system, the central government has approved hiring of more than 53,500 male workers to run various disease control programmes at health centres across the country under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The list was finalised at a meeting of the NRHM chaired by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and attended by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj CP Joshi and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. These workers will be recruited in 235 districts, identified as 'focus districts'.

Chhattisgarh will launch mobile clinics to provide free medical support to an estimated three million people hit by sickle cell anaemia, Health Minister Amar Agrawal said. "The disease has attained alarming proportions in the state, with more than 50 per cent of affected children dying before the age of five and many others in the prime of their youth," the Minister said.

Assam has shown a quantum jump in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS, although the state is not yet categorised as a high risk region. As per latest figures released by the Assam State AIDS Control Society, there are 4,251 people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The jump in the number of people infected with the virus has increased from 364 in 2001 to 4,251 in April this year. "Assam may not be a high prevalent state, but the worrying part is that we are surrounded by Manipur, a very critical state in terms of HIV/AIDS," said Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.